The top brands powering community sport in Australia
From the 80,698 x brands that are known to invest in community sport sponsorship, six have emerged as the top performing brands
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The Australian Open welcomed MECCA back for 2026 as Official Beauty Partner - the MECCA Pro Shop, a stunning three-storey beauty hub in The Village, will deliver express touch-ups, skincare education and exclusive product activations to fans
St Kilda FC welcomed RIO Sound & Vision as its newest partner ahead of the 2026 season whose logo will feature across all coaching sleeves
Richmond FC announced a new partnership with Urban Caravans which will be represented across match days, social media activity and digital content, including the Club’s Talking Tigers podcast, hosted by Matthew Richardson
Perth Bears announced a new partnership New Balance which became the Club’s Official Team Apparel Partner - the 4-year deal will see New Balance design the on-field kit for the Bears’ 2027 inaugural NRL season along with official teamwear
Brisbane Broncos announced that National Storage extended its partnership for another 3 years which will see the company’s logo feature on the back of the Broncos’ NRL and NRLW home & away playing jerseys
Sydney FC welcomed Australian beverage company South Ave who join the Sky Blues as the Official Seltzer and Vodka Partner - the brand will have a presence on the Men’s and Women’s sleeves for the Isuzu-UTE and Ninja A-Leagues 2025-26 season
Budget Car & Truck Rentals became an Official Partner of the Parramatta Eels which will see its logo appear on the back right of the NRLW playing shorts and across NRL and NRLW game days
Accor extended its partnership with Qudos Bank Arena for 3 years giving access to enhanced in-venue advertising, eDM campaigns, and broader fan engagement opportunities
Penrith Panthers and Australian energy retailer Nectr inked a new 3-year expanded deal which saw the The Panthers Rugby League Academy officially renamed to the Nectr Rugby League Academy
Commbank was named as the Official Regional Partner of the upcoming AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™ - As part of the partnership, CommBank will have the exclusive opportunity to run a promotion to select kids who will have the exciting prospect of accompanying players during the march-in
Cricket Victoria secured a new partnership with ISLA Vodka which is set to elevate the match-day experience at the CitiPower Centre and across the 2025/26 summer of cricket
Hockey Australia announced a 3-year strategic partnership with Musco Sports Lighting (global leader in sports lighting solutions) - the pair will collaborate to deliver upgrades across hockey facilities nationally
Illawarra Hawks entered into a new partnership with global sports consultancy STOIC360 that’s aimed at expanding the club’s commercial and cultural footprint across the Middle East in the lead-up to the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027
The respective Tom Rogers from the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades fronted the media alongside a Melbourne Derby-branded tram ahead of the start of the BBL15 season
SA Government secured Supercars’ bp Adelaide Grand Final until 2034 - Since its debut in 1999 more than 6.1m fans having attended the event and last year it delivered a $72.6 million economic benefit for the state
Lacoste announced plans to transform the iconic Afloat Melbourne into a 20m+ floating tennis court that includes an exclusive pop-up apparel store, coinciding with the Australian Open
The Formula 1 Exhibition opened at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre - Brought to Melbourne by Sony Music and TEG Experiences, and produced by Round Room Live, it spans 22,000+ square feet across 7 purpose-built immersive rooms, it features 5 iconic F1 cars including Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship winners, 60+ helmets, 25+ race suits, 100 exclusive interviews, and 10 racing simulators
WNBL unveiled the Tasmania Jewels as the competition’s ninth team who are set to hit the court in the 2026/27 WNBL season - The club’s new logo features a similar ant motif to that of the Tasmania JackJumpers
Netball Australia launched an Expressions of Interest campaign targeting qualified organisations and consortia interested in securing a new team owner licence in the Suncorp Super Netball League
Premier Jacinta Allan, Deputy Premier Ben Carroll and Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams joined AFLW North Melbourne players at Metro Tunnel’s Arden Station ahead of its opening
LIV Golf Adelaide unveiled a four day lineup of world class live music which includes Peking Duk (Thursday) Royel Otis (Friday) John Summit (Saturday) and FISHER (Sunday)
UFC president Dana White announced via Instagram Live that Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena will host UFC 325 on February 1 with featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski headlining the event against Diego Lopes
HiTZ Cricket, the world’s first operator-less, AI-powered cricket training experience, is launching a new site at Melbourne’s CitiPower Centre, thanks to a new partnership with Cricket Victoria
NFL Australia hosted a thanksgiving Brunch at the W Hotels Melbourne - via Seeker Agency
Summer Jam, Australia’s biggest celebration of basketball culture, announced its return for its 14th edition with a major national expansion that will see the streetball phenomenon travel to four major cities - Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney
Breakaway league, R360 announced the delay of the launch of its global franchise league by 2 years amid doubts over its ability to recruit players and the viability of its commercial model
India’s Ahmedabad was officially confirmed as the host city for the Commonwealth Games 2030
Guest Writer: Robert Honan
Robert Honan is an experienced sport industry professional who struggled to find sponsors due to a lack of transparency. He founded The Community & Club Collective, to unlock the sport industry’s biggest network - sponsorship volunteers, and uncover where other volunteers were finding sponsors. In fact, the data-driven approach is reducing volunteer (or employee) workload whilst diversifying and growing sponsorship revenue across the sport industry.
Today Robert unveils the top brands powering community sport in Australia.
Enjoy the read!
The top brands powering community sport in Australia
It’s time to celebrate those who have climbed to the top!
Please join The Community & Club Collective in delivering a virtual round of applause to brands who have shown commitment, dedication and effort to invest in the community sport industry.
From the 80,698 x brands that are known to invest in community sport sponsorship, six have emerged as the top performing brands.
Let’s uncover what makes these brands great.
The community sport sponsorship industry is the heart and soul of the sports industry
It is the industries, brands and businesses who invest via cash or contra into volunteer-led community sport organisations.
Sponsorship volunteers are the backbone, the people who are proactively networking to source and secure funding to reduce participation costs, purchase new equipment or upgrade infrastructure.
Whilst sponsorship professionals in peak sport organisations and professional sport organisations can invest hours, days and even weeks into leveraging data, fostering relationships and networks, volunteers, like they have for the last 100 years, they still primarily rely upon their personal network to identify and secure sponsors.
The Community Sport Sponsorship Model, illustrates that the most participants, most volunteers and most sponsorships in the sport industry all reside within community sport.
Data-consolidation can deliver benefits to community sports sponsorship
By consolidating community sport sponsorship industry data, transparency is delivered to volunteers (and employees) who choose to implement a data-driven approach to (1) reduce workload; and (2) increase sponsorship revenue.
From metro ovals to remote regional courts, sponsorship touches every corner of the country.
TCACC’s has generated insights from:
158,421 x sponsor records
24,154 x community sport organisations reviewed
12 x sports
What TCACC has found:
11,134 x community sport organisations with no sponsors
241 x industries investing in community sport sponsorship
559 x brands investing in 15 or more community sport sponsorships
80,698 x brands investing in community sport sponsorship
National average is 12.15 sponsors per organisation, when organisations with no sponsor data is excluded
National average is 6.56 sponsors per organisation, when all data is included
Top performers
South Australia has the highest sponsor average per organisation; 15.90 when organisations with organisations with no sponsor data is excluded
Victoria has the highest sponsor average per organisation; 8.41 when all data is included
AFL has the highest sponsor average per organisation
100% x postcodes reviewed had at least one sponsor
Under performers
New South Wales is the lowest performing region
Pickleball (4.34), Gymnastics (5.31), Hockey (7.21), Swimming (7.47) and Cricket (8.56) are the sports where the national sport average is under 10 sponsors per organisation
*Brands looking to maximise ROI can find major opportunities in sports and regions with lower competition and far less noise.
Fun Facts on market dominance by #1 ranked brands
Top Performing Brands By Industry
Restaurant - RSL
The Restaurant industry has beaten 240 rival industries to 1st spot. The Restaurant industry invests in more community sport sponsorships than all other industries.
RSL is the driving brand behind the dominance of the Restaurant industry. 11 out of 100 sponsorships from the Restaurant industry are funded by RSL’s.
The RSL dominance extends across sports. 12 x sports have the RSL as their #1 Restaurant industry brand.
And the RSL dominance isn’t limited to sports. The number 1 Restaurant brand in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania is RSL.
Meanwhile, the RSL is #2 in South Australia behind Fasta Pasta, and #6 in the Australian Capital Territory.
Western Australia is the outlier with no representation inside the top 100 Restaurant brands investing in sponsorship. Alongside Western Australia with no RSL representation is the Northern Territory.
One in three RSL sponsorship investments are made into Cricket, the most invested sport.
The Hervey Bay 4655 postcode in Queensland and Sutherland Shire postcode 2233 in New South Wales are the joint leaders for most RSL sponsorship investments. Regional locations can match their metropolitan counterparts.
Real Estate - Ray White
In 2024, Ray White dropped a $1.5M investment into media spend aligned to professional sport.
In 2025, Ray White extend their investment in profession sport by sponsoring 5 x AFL teams across 4 states.
Meanwhile, Ray White continue to be the #1 Real Estate brand investing in community sport, holding a 9% market share.
AFL, Basketball, Cricket, Football, Golf, Hockey, Netball, Rugby League, Rugby Union and Swimming all receive more Real Estate sponsorships from Ray White than any other Real Estate Brand.
Volunteers within Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia who are looking for a Real Estate sponsor, should not hesitate before approaching Ray White as Ray White is the #1 Real Estate brand in each of the regions.
Despite being knocked off the top spot in Western Australia, Ray White sits in #2 position and remains a solid option for volunteers to explore.
Meanwhile in Tasmania, there are 9 x Real Estate brands ahead of Ray White who sit in #10 and don’t seem to have the same capacity to invest as their mainland counterparts.
Fast Food - McDonald’s
One in five Fast Food industry sponsorships are aligned to McDonalds.
With a plethora of sponsorships across professional teams, competitions and codes it is not a surprise to see McDonald’s as the #1 Fast Food industry sponsor of every sport.
The McDonald’s dominance is almost replicated across all regions, except McDonald’s has fallen to the #2 ranked Fast Food brand in Tasmania, behind Red Grasshopper Pizza.
McDonald’s most invested sport is AFL with the Sunbury postcode 3429 generating the most sponsorships from McDondald’s.
Financial Services - Mortgage Choice
Mortgage Choice made their move in September 2025, entering the professional sport sponsorship with an investment in the NBL.
The Financial Services industry is a highly competitive space, with Mortgage Choice market share only sitting at 3%.
Despite the low industry market share, Mortgage Choice is the #1 brand for 6 x sports; AFL, Basketball, Cricket, Golf, Netball and Rugby League.
The absence of 6 x sports highlights the opportunity available to sports, but also to Mortgage Choice.
Furthermore, Mortgage Choice has acquired #1 Financial Services brand in all mainland States. For Tasmania and the Territories - Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory finding an alternative Financial Service brand will lead to greatest success.
Cricket is the most important sport for Mortgage Choice with a 25% gap to the number 2 sport; AFL.
The Northern Gold Coast (postcode 4208), Strathmore (postcode 3041) and the Central Coast (postcode 2261) are joint leaders for most investments from Mortgage Choice.
The lack of a regional postcode is an opportunity that Mortgage Choice, or their competitors, may wish to explore.
Motor Vehicle - Toyota
Oh what a feeling! One in five Motor Vehicle industry sponsorships are aligned to Toyota.
3 out of 4 sports have Toyota as the #1 Motor Vehicle industry brand.
Meanwhile, a national Basketball Australia partnership with Ford Australia that connects Ford’s dealer network with community Basketball associations sees Toyota lose its top billing in Basketball. Even more surprising is that Toyota falls to #3 brand for Basketball as Mitsubishi slips into the #2 spot.
Toyota has proven its willingness to invest in community sport. However there are two sports that miss out on sponsorship. From a combined 736 x community sport Gymnastics and Pickleball organisations were able to generate 1 x Toyota sponsorship.
Is this merely a matter that Gymnastics and Pickleball are not approaching Toyota or has Toyota made a business decision to not invest in these two sports?
It will be interesting to see if Gymnastics and Pickleball are able to engage Toyota or if another Motor Vehicle brand sees an opportunity to align to an audience that has limited to no competitors.
Toyota’s most invested postcode is Colac’s 3250, proving that sponsorship opportunities are not limited to metropolitan locations.
Special mention
To the Financial Industry, which doesn’t sit in the Top 10 industries that sponsor community sport, but does have the national #1 ranked brand - Bendigo Bank
Financial - Bendigo Bank
As banks continue to close branches, 155 in the last 12 months, so too does the investment in community sport sponsorship.
In 2025, there’s been a 19% drop in the total number of investments made by banks in community sport sponsorship compared to 2024.
The financial industry is being propped up by one brand; Bendigo Bank. A 72% market share, provides Bendigo Bank a unique connection with communities across Australia.
Alarm bells should be ringing for AFL and Cricket clubs as they receive 57% of sponsorships from the financial industry. They are most at risk should the financial industry sponsorship investment continue to decline.
Whilst investment is rapidly dropping from the financial industry, banks are continuing to post record profits. Banks have the cash to invest, but without community connections via branches, it is too administrative heavy to manage community sport sponsorships.
Within community sport, Bendigo Bank bucks the trend as the #1 brand for 100% sports and 100% regions.
Even more incredible is that Bendigo Bank’s subsidiary brand; Community Bank is the #2 ranked brand within the Financial industry - Combined they own a whopping 68% industry market share.
It is vital for volunteers to invest their time and effort chasing opportunities with the highest likelihood of success. If the Financial industry is the industry of choice, volunteers should go straight to Bendigo Bank.
The easiest way to commence a relationship that may result in a sponsorship may be to open a bank account with Bendigo Bank.
Any sport that isn’t proactively advising volunteers to open an account with Bendigo Bank are making revenue generation harder for volunteers. Note, opening an account doesn’t mean that current accounts need to be closed.
Note* The challenges facing community sport are not reflected with National Sport Organisations or professional sport
These organisations have sponsorships with Australia’s biggest banks that have an emphasis on grassroots:
In June this year, CommBank and Football Australia announced a ground-breaking 6-year partnership
Westpac has a new 4-year Principal Partnership with Cricket Australia reportedly worth $40m (This is on the back of sponsoring both Queensland and New South Wales in the State of Origin)
NAB has a 6-year deal with the AFL as a Major Partner, along with Naming Rights of NAB AFL Auskick and AFLW
In Summary
To the following brands, congratulations on being the #1 ranked brand within your respective industries:
RSL
Ray White
McDonald’s
Mortgage Choice
Toyota
Bendigo Bank
The sport industry, in particular the community sport industry is better off from your commitment, dedication and investment in sponsorship.
adidas - Senior Manager, Digital Activation
AFL - Host and Reporter
AFL - Social Media Producer
Amer Sports - Head of Marketing
Amplify - Sports Talent Coordinator
Australian Golf Services - Marketing and Creative Lead
Australian Grand Prix Corporation - Communications Specialist
AusTriathlon - General Manager Corporate Services
Bastion - Client Manager
Carlton FC - Consumer Communications Coordinator
Canterbury - Trade & Customer Marketing Manager
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs - Corporate Sales Executive
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs - Marketing Executive
Capital Football - Marketing & Communications Manager
ClassPass - Field Account Executive - Brisbane
Dabble - Commercial Manager
Easygo - Esports Sponsorships Lead
Entain Australia & New Zealand - Brand Copywriter - Multi-Brand Communications
Essendon FC - Head of Partnership Sales
Fanatics - VP and GM
First Ever - Account Manager
Foot Locker - Director, Product Strategy
Football Australia - Senior Partnerships Manager
Foxtel Group - Customer Marketing Coordinator - Kayo Sports & BINGE
Front Runner - Senior Performance Marketing Manager | DTC Growth
Futures Sport & Entertainment - Senior Analyst
Gold Coast SUNS - Head of Events & Match Day Experience
Gold Coast Titans - Commercial Development Executive
HIF Australia - Brand and Sponsorship Manager
JD Sports Australia & New Zealand - Paid Social Media Executive
lululemon - Area Community Specialist (Perth)
lululemon - Area Community Specialist (Melbourne)
lululemon - CRM & Email Marketing Lead
Melbourne Racing Club - Sales Coordinator
MKTG Sports + Entertainment Australia - Senior Communications Strategist
MKTG Sports + Entertainment Australia - Senior Event Manager
Netball Australia - Commercial Sales Manager
Netball Australia - Head of Partnerships
Nike - Senior, Brand Creative Seasonal Retail & Experience Designer Pacific
Nike - Senior Principal, Nike Sportswear & Energy Marketplace, Pacific
NRL - School Marketing Lead
Parramatta Eels - Partnerships Manager
Octagon - Senior Analyst
Queensland Academy of Sport - Communications and Media Manager
Queensland Academy of Sport - Research and Innovation Coordinator
Queensland Cricket - General Manager Community Cricket and Infrastructure
Queensland Government - Manager, Sport and Venue Mobilisation
Racing.com - Senior Content Creator
Racing Victoria Group - Partnership Sales Manager
Richmond FC - Head of Foundation and Commercial Growth
SailGP - Race Stadium Manager, APAC
Seeker Agency - Senior Event Producer
South East Melbourne Phoenix - Commercial Executive
Supercars - Event Operations Manager
Supercars - Partnerships Manager
St Kilda FC - Marketing Coordinator
Sydney Roosters - Social Media Content Producer
Tennis Australia - Marketing Partnerships Coordinator
TGI Sport - Communications Manager
TGI Sport - Sales Manager
Tradable Bits - Customer Success Manager — Sports, Music & Entertainment
Two Circles - Major Event Ticketing Marketing Lead
Under Armour - Key Account Manager
Wasserman - Account Manager, Strategy & Consulting
Wasserman - Account Director
Wasserman - Art Director
Wasserman - Creative Director
Wasserman - Senior Social Media Manager
Wasserman - Social Strategist
Western Bulldogs - Marketing Automation Coordinator
World Rugby - Communications & PR Manager
Not a subscriber yet? Discover specialised sports marketing insights, tailored for sports industry professionals within Australia and across the globe. If you work in sports for an agency, brand or rights-holder then this is for you.